Extragenital nasal transmissible venereal tumour in a dog complicated by vincristine‐induced neuropathy and chemotherapy‐induced immune‐mediated thrombocytopenia

Extra‐genital nasal transmissible venereal tumour (TVT) is uncommon in dogs, which creates a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for practising veterinarians. A Golden Retriever dog with a chronic history of sneezing and unilateral haemorrhagic nasal discharge was presented. The haemato‐biochemical, PCR for haemoprotozoan diseases, radiography and nasal cytology were inconclusive. Rhinoscopy‐guided biopsy for histopathology depicted the typical TVT picture. Chemotherapy was started with vincristine sulphate at weekly intervals, which caused rhinorrhagia and an ataxic gait after the second injection. It was concluded that these were vincristine‐induced neuropathy and immune‐mediated thrombocytopenia. To manage the complications, vincristine was stopped and gabapentin, prednisolone and a thrombopoietin analogue (romiplostim) were prescribed for 1 month, which revealed marked improvement. However, the presence of intermittent bleeding and nasal discharge prompted alternative chemotherapy with doxorubicin, which resulted in complete resolution of TVT and associated complications. Therefore, this report describes the diagnostic approach to rare nasal TVT and the management of chemotherapy‐induced complications.